Amphibians as Foods

Frogs are raised as a food source. Frog legs are a delicacy in China, France, the Philippines, northern Greece, and the American south, especially Louisiana.

Amphibians in Research

Amphibians are used in cloning research.
Cloning
involves making identical copies of a parent organism. They are also used to study embryos because their eggs lack shells, so it is easy to watch their development.

The African clawed frog,
Xenopus laevis
, is a species that is studied to understand aspects of developmental biology. It is a good model organisms because it is easy to raise in a lab and has a large embryo, which is easy to study (
Figure
below
). Many
Xenopus
genes have been identified and cloned, especially those involved in development.

Many environmental scientists believe that amphibians, including frogs, indicate when an environment is damaged. When species of frogs begin to decline, it often indicates that there is a bigger problem within the ecosystem.

Frog embryos are often studied to better understand how development works.

Amphibians in Popular Culture

Amphibians can be found in folklore, fairy tales, and popular culture. Numerous legends have developed over the centuries around the salamander. Its name originates from the Persian words for “fire” and “within," so many of these legends are related to fire. This connection likely originates from the tendency of many salamanders to live inside rotting logs. When placed into the fire, salamanders would escape from the logs, lending to the belief that the salamander was created from flames.

Vocabulary

cloning
: To make an identical copy of an organism.

Summary

Frogs are raised as a food source in many parts of the world.

Amphibian embryos are ideal to study development since they lack a shell.